Vocalnayno: The Talking Foam Volcano
Encouraging children to read frequently and helping them todevelop their readings skills as effectively as possible can be a challenge forsome primary schools. Often, institutions have to rely on external teachingassistants and parent volunteers to provide pupils with additional one-on-onesupport in order help them to achieve an acceptable standard of reading.However, there are inefficiencies to this approach. For example, somevolunteers lack the necessary instructional knowledge to deliver learningmaterial effectively, while others may possess limited agency to assess pupilprogress. Consequently, this can delay the identificationand communication of individual needs, which can be essential for tailoring such support.
The Vocalnayno project questions whether the use of a game-basedintervention can integrate into the existing teaching culture at a primaryschool. As pupils play the game, various metrics can be captured and recorded. Such analytics may aid teaching assistants to achieve a more significant impact onpupil reading development.
Encouraging children to read frequently and helping them todevelop their readings skills as effectively as possible can be a challenge forsome primary schools. Often, institutions have to rely on external teachingassistants and parent volunteers to provide pupils with additional one-on-onesupport in order help them to achieve an acceptable standard of reading.However, there are inefficiencies to this approach. For example, somevolunteers lack the necessary instructional knowledge to deliver learningmaterial effectively, while others may possess limited agency to assess pupilprogress. Consequently, this can delay the identificationand communication of individual needs, which can be essential for tailoring such support.
The Vocalnayno project questions whether the use of a game-basedintervention can integrate into the existing teaching culture at a primaryschool. As pupils play the game, various metrics can be captured and recorded. Such analytics may aid teaching assistants to achieve a more significant impact onpupil reading development.
An educational game for young children where phonetics are read aloud to fire bubbles out of a volcano – saving primitive man from a flooding island
Game Design Overview
Game Design Overview
First, the player must read aloud phonetic prompts into the device - this "powers up" the Vocalnayno by providing him with magic power to create and project bubbles!
In the subsequent round, the player must shoot bubbles at cavemen on the surface of the island in order to launch them into the sky, thus saving them from the raising flood water.
Publications
An academic poster presented at the 6th European Conference on Game-Based Learning in 2012
